I have not figured out, yet, why organized male homosexuals, calling themselves “skeptics,” would be engaged in viciously attacking proponents of common sense in health care – but they do, just about everywhere in the English speaking world. The country of Australia is a striking example. The LGBT community should be ashamed of itself.
Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen
I have a few theories about why that is, why they do that, but since I’m not going to circulate in that world (I am content as a heterosexual, thank you very much), I am not going to carefully investigate this seeming anomaly. In my world tractors are important (have I shown you pictures of my 1944 Ford Ferguson 2N I’ve been restoring?), tools – both indoor and outdoor, guns (of course), high-country, white water rivers, and mountain-tops. I have no interest in face creams and cute shoes (not on ME, anyway).
In Australia, the “skeptic” attack on the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN), has become almost a continuing rendition of a down under version of “Saturday Night Live,” or a remake of Mack Sennet’s “Keystone Kops.” It is just plain hilarious to watch.
But, if you take the leadership of the Australian Skeptics, and batch them together as one in their AVN attack, you’d have to make the far better comparison of Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner. Those of you that remember the original “Looney Tunes” coyote-roadrunner series will remember the elaborate schemes concocted by Coyote – and their belly-laugh results. From Wikipedia:
“In each episode, instead of animal senses and cunning, Wile E. Coyote uses absurdly complex contraptions (sometimes in the manner of Rube Goldberg) and elaborate plans to pursue his quarry. It was originally meant to parody chase cartoons like Tom and Jerry, but became popular in its own right.”
And, that’s exactly what has happened. You’re going to love this story.
Every time I tell another “skeptic” story, it seems, another facet of their combined persona is revealed.
Before recent stories though, if I had to pick one phrase to describe “skeptics in general, I would have picked “filth encrusted.” But now I see they are much more than that. Silly of me to underrate them. They can be, in fact, and definitely are, in this case, comedic relief.
So, what’s the story?
Meryl Dorey, with the AVN, you will remember, two years ago, was receiving death threats from a shoe salesman, an award-winning member of the Australian skeptics. I wrote about that here in my newsletter. Click on the title below and you can review it again. The article microcosms the entire ““skeptic ” world-wide operation:
As Meryl Dorey says, of the skeptics earlier attempts to destroy the AVN:
“These attempts to shut down the AVN have included investigations and warnings issued by the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) which we had to fight long and hard to finally defeat. We accomplished this in the Supreme Court which determined that the HCCC acted illegally when conducting their investigation and issuing a warning against us..
They tried to close us down by using the Department of Fair Trading – several times. They tried with ASIC when we weren’t even registered with ASIC. Through the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing (which had to assign one of their employees a full-time job of just dealing with these complaints – at huge cost to the taxpayer!) who revoked our charity authority but was later made to reinstate it because we ARE a charity and we ARE entitled to be one.
Immediately upon that reinstatement, the same people and organizations started lobbying the Minister for Fair Trading to ask him to once again revoke our charitable status because they disagree with us on vaccination. What part of ‘democracy’ don’t these people understand?
I have seen evidence that there was even an attempt to have me deported from Australia via complaints to the Dept of Immigration but unfortunately for the people pushing for this, I am an Australian citizen.
The idea that a group of doctors can unite to SMASH an organisation that questions a medical procedure sounds more like economic protectionism than true concern to me. Who stands to gain if the AVN is forced to close? Not the parents of Australia who will have nowhere else to go for help, information and support. The doctors will gain though because without a vocal and active group supporting conscientious objectors to vaccination, compulsory vaccination will become a reality as we found back in the late 1990s when the government tried to sneak in legislation taking away financial entitlements from parents who did not vaccinate. It was only because the AVN lobbied for the introduction of a Conscientious Objector clause that today, we have the right to claim all government benefits whether we choose to vaccinate fully, selectively or not at all.”
There was more…
The queer behavior never seems to quit. The skeptics then went after the AVN’s corporate name – the Australian Vaccination Network, by filing complaints with the NSW Commissioner for Fair
Trading.
“In December 2012 a formal order was issued by the NSW Commissioner for Fair Trading to AVN to change its name on the grounds it was misleading the public. NSW Fair Trading (a division of NSW Department of Finance and Services) had received complaints that AVN’s name was confusing and misled the public as to its operational intention.”
Here is the hilarious part: “Magistrate Hennessy affirmed the Director General’s order for AVN to adopt a new name. It is her view that to be acceptable, “the name should reflect AVN’s scepticism about vaccinations.”
So, naturally the AVN simply changed it’s name to (get ready to smile here) the Australian Vaccination-skepticism Network (initials AVN still). Get a mind picture of twelve skeptics laying on the floor of their favorite bar in a pool of spilled Appletinis and their own vomit, kicking their feet in shrieking, screeching, frustration?
And after all that work….
The AVN, as you can tell, just toys with these fools.
It gets even better…
Now, of course, the Australian government has joined in. The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC), an agency that spent a year-and-a-half in 2009/2010, investigating the AVN, is back again, obviously harassing the AVN. You can read AVN’s article on this by clicking here.
But now comes the very hilarious part. Meryl Dorey, the former President of the AVN was invited to participate in a “debate,” at the Sunshine Coast Health Lifestyles Expo, over the vaccine issue. Just below is an excerpt from the AVN’s BEGINNING article on what occurred. The Health Expo was also recruiting a pro-vaccine advocate to debate Dorey.
“There is one side of the vaccination issue supported by those who believe parents should be able to access a broad range of information from many different sources. This side is not afraid of scrutiny and in fact, has been asking for better, more transparent research for decades. That side is represented by the Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network (AVN) and the other pro-information, pro-choice groups in Australia and overseas.
In opposition to this open and democratic viewpoint on scientific issues, there are organisations and individuals whose raison d’étre seems to be to prevent parents from accessing information freely and to threaten, harass and abuse anyone whose viewpoint on medical issues is not in accord with their own beliefs. That side is represented by the pro-vaccine lobby: the Australian Skeptics, Stop the AVN, certain members of both State and Federal Parliaments and some sections of the medical community.”
It seems, (get ready to laugh here) that, at first, NO ONE from the pro-vaccine community would accept the challenge. The AVN, of course, made the most of this, very publicly. So, finally, skeptic Peter Bowditch, to me a coward of the first order, claimed that HE, Bowditch, would debate her (snort). Bowditch is not known to carry things through. See AVN article on this here. Bowditch had said, in writing, the following:
“Please notify the organisers of the Healthy Lifestyles Expo that I was serious when I offered to debate you. Now that you are aware of this you can no longer claim that nobody from the sanity side of the non-debate is prepared to step up to the plate.”
Below is what Meryl Dorey wrote to Bowditch (photo of Bowditch to left):
Dear Mr Bowditch,
You accepted the public debate at the You Can Heal Yourself Expo. Neither I nor anyone else forced you to accept this. And you accepted it twice – once via the organiser’s website – once via the AVN’s website.
To quote you directly:
“Please notify the organisers of the Healthy Lifestyles Expo that I was serious when I offered to debate you. Now that you are aware of this you can no longer claim that nobody from the sanity side of the non-debate is prepared to step up to the plate.”
So, are you “prepared to step up to the plate” and debate me at this forum or not? An answer would be appreciated.
If you are not going to attend this debate after stating quite clearly that you would do so, could you please have the courtesy to inform both myself and the organisers of that fact?
I will not enter into any other discussion with you.
Kind regards,
Meryl Dorey
Bowditch, of course, went into hiding. Occasionally I will verbally joust with Bowditch on Discussion Groups – if you could call his weak contribution “jousting.” Within minutes of my comments, new anonymous personnae join the Discussion on Bowditch’s side – and OBVIOUSLY they are Bowditch, using an assumed name. He even has FEMALE personnae (which seem BRIGHTER, quite honestly) he uses.
Bowditch, several years ago, went to one of those “Amazing Meetings” in Las Vegas. On the way, at about 5:30AM, he stopped and had his picture taken in front of the business that hosts my private mailbox – I guess, so he could show attendees at the meeting how brave he was. Bravery? No. Cowardice is his thing.
I’m not surprised he couldn’t face Meryl Dorey. Look how tough, and scary, she looks in her photo to the right (sarcasm intended).
Don’t go away, there’s more…
The “Death Threats” started once again over the scheduled Expo appearance, not only against the AVN, but against the organizers of the Health Expo. Check out this Australian TV news video here. The Health Expo organizers just called in the police, both local and Federal. The skeptic attack was turned back against them. Meryl Dorey spoke by herself – to a much larger audience than originally expected.
The Health Expo event organizers had tried virtually everything to get a pro-vaccine advocate to debate Dorey. They even requested that Queensland’ top health doctor. Dr. Jeannette Young, do the debate herself – and she refused claiming “there is nothing to debate.” See a local Queensland TV station’s story on this here.
So, do you think the AVN should have been frightened over possibly having to debate Jeannette Young? No, they were not. In fact they were EAGER to get Young on a podium to answer questions about a cover-up she was running. Dorey, and the AVN, says:
“Queensland’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Jeanette Young, has refused to participate in a panel discussion on vaccination at this weekend’s Healthy Lifestyles expo on the Sunshine Coast, saying “there’s nothing to debate”. In the wake of this, disturbing details have now emerged of a cover up by her office regarding the death of a child following vaccination.
Brisbane two-year-old, Ashley Jade Epapara, died shortly after a flu vaccination on April 9, 2010, just two weeks before the vaccine was withdrawn nationally in a blaze of publicity due to severe reactions. Police attending the scene of the death told reporters there were no suspicious circumstances apart from the vaccine. But Queensland Health staff acted quickly to quash that suggestion, instructing police to “ensure no further statements of the nature were made”, and securing agreement from media outlets to not pursue the story.
With the story suppressed, the vaccine continued on a path of destruction, particularly in Western Australia where an aggressive campaign was underway to vaccinate every child in the state.
It was not until April 22 that the vaccine was withdrawn from use in children. During and immediately following this period, many children endured severe reactions including Saba Button, who remains profoundly disabled. One wonders whether Saba’s parents, or those of the many other children affected, would have taken their child for the shot had they known about the tragedy in Brisbane. Unfortunately few knew about the vaccine connection in the Brisbane tragedy because of the cover up.”
The Australian Vaccination-skepticism Network just cannot be stopped…
When they get attacked they engage – and decimate the attacker. Every time.
Good moves. A lesson for us all.
Stay Tuned…
Tim Bolen – Consumer Advocate